Providing for Consideration of H.R. Preventing Irs Abuse and Protecting Free Speech Act; and Providing for Consideration of H.R. Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule today and ask that we defeat the previous question.

The IRS portion of this bill that is included in the rule, the debate regarding that, is nothing more than a political messaging debate, and it is politically charged, and it really has no place on this floor today, given the seriousness of this underlying issue that the gentleman from Massachusetts just spoke about.

The American people don't need more partisan politics. The American people need a Congress that will stand up and take action to help keep Americans safe from a number of things, one of the most important of which is gun violence in their neighborhoods and in their communities.

Thirty people are killed every day by someone using a gun in our country. In the 3 years since Sandy Hook, there have been over 1,000 mass shootings, and more than 34,000 people have been killed by someone using a gun.

Every time these tragedies take place, the response from my friends on the Republican side of the aisle is the same. Thoughts and prayers are sent and moments of silence are held, but no real action is taken.

In the 3 years since Sandy Hook, we have held 30 moments of silence after a terrible tragedy such as the one that just occurred in Orlando.

But we haven't taken a single vote on legislation that would help keep guns out of dangerous hands.

One of the simplest solutions we have put forward to help keep Americans safe is legislation to prohibit those on the FBI's terrorist watch list from being able to legally purchase firearms.

Today, individuals on the FBI's terrorist watch list can go into a gun store anyplace in the United States of America and buy a firearm of their choosing legally. As a matter of fact, since this watch list has been established, over 2,000 individuals on the terrorist watch list have gone into gun stores across the country and legally purchased firearms. I think that is wrong. It is dangerous, it is unacceptable, and it makes our country less safe.

I have bipartisan legislation that I have offered with my Republican friend and colleague, Peter King from New York, that would prohibit those on the terrorist watch list from being able to purchase a firearm legally in our country.

The American people are overwhelmingly in support of this, and if House Republicans agree that suspected terrorists shouldn't be able to legally buy guns, then let's take a vote. Vote it up or down, but give the American people the right to have this measure voted on.

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